


Circe

by MabelLover



Series: Moirai [6]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series, Layton Kyouju vs Gyakuten Saiban | Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Genre: Gen, because this world is nothing if not messed up, mostly children and people liking death, some messed up stuff, think of it like brainwashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22437532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MabelLover/pseuds/MabelLover
Summary: A little girl grows up in Labyrinthia and learns about witches.Her mother is a witch.This story would never end well.
Series: Moirai [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1554079
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Circe

_Once upon a time, a young shepherd found an injured witch while looking for one of his sheep on a forest. The witch had fallen off a tree, and her Talea Magica laid broken in front of her. The shepherd took pity on her and brought her to his hut._

Thea was four when she played ‘Witches and Inquisitors’ for the first time. Allan was pretending to be Inquisitor Barnham, Gregor and Tamessa were going to be the victims, and Thea was pretending to be a witch. They ran through the streets of Labyrinthia, trying to catch each other. With a stick in hand, Thea screamed gibberish as she pretended to use the worst curses available to a witch. Allan disarmed her with his wooden sword and tackled her to the ground, declaring his victory. The children cheered the death of the witch and left to get the piece of cake that Gregor’s mother was offering.

The children were told stories about the evil witches that threatened Labyrinthia and the courageous knights that protected the civilians. It was rather simple – knights good, witches evil. They were brought to the court to see trials and be assured that they were protected, and they were taught to clap enthusiastically when the witches were burned to death. Thea very much enjoyed the spectacle of the flames engulfing the metal cage.

Thea’s mother always looked the other way. Sometimes, Thea would glance sideways at the older woman and see something in her eyes. She wondered why her mother came to the trials if she didn’t like them.

Sometimes, when Thea asked for a story about a witch, her mother would begin a tale that she never heard anyone else tell.

_The shepherd fell in love with the witch, but the people of his village were scared. They decided to separate them, and they never saw each other again._

\--

Thea’s mother had a Talea Magica. Thea didn’t really understand what it was or what it meant and simply looked in fascination as her mother conjured fire when the logs were too wet to burn, or as she made the Talea become smaller and smaller until it was the size of a needle. Thea’s mother always tucked it away in her pocket, and never got it out before she was back home.

Sometimes, Thea went to trials that involved witches doing magic very similar to what her mother could do. It didn’t make sense. They used magic to hurt people – burn them to death, freeze their toes off, explode them. Her mother couldn’t be using magic, she was good! She told her stories and made good food and worked really hard on her job and she smiled despite being tired. Thea’s mother was good, and witches are bad.

_The witch used her magic to grow flowers and create ice sculptures, and the shepherd stood enchanted in the beauty of it all. Magic was beautiful._

\--

Thea didn’t have a father. He had died many years ago, when she still was a baby. Her mother didn’t speak often about him, but when she did, she usually commented on how Thea had inherited his eyes.

When Thea stealthily stayed awake past her bedtime, she would sneak to her mother’s bedroom. There, she would take out a small box from under her mother’s bed, being careful not to wake her. She would take it to her room, and examine its contents.

There were letters she couldn’t read yet, a pendant with a lock of hair inside, a pair of old gloves… And, tucked away in a corner, neatly folded, the portrait of a young man with blonde hair and black eyes. Thea would then look at the mirror and find an equal pair of dark eyes.

The portrait had been cut, leaving out the remains of another person whose arm was the only visible thing. On the back, someone had written with large, bold letters, Adam, Cordelia and Thea.

_The shepherd defended the witch, but no one believed in him. They thought she had confused him._

\--

“Kill the witch! Kill the witch!”

The crowd chanted, the room filled with the enthusiasm of another burning. Thea could see Allan and Gregor and Tamessa excitedly hanging on to their parents. The thrill of the witch being led to the cage was palpable, and the public could hardly restrain itself.

The woman resisted all the way through, kicking the guards, trying to wrestle her way out of their grip, screaming for mercy, that she wasn’t a witch, as she was inevitably dragged forward by the men’s strength. Thea got up from her chair and was about to bolt forward when Inquisitor Barnham put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

Thea’s mother cried when she was put inside the cage. The last thing she could scream before it closed, muffling it off, was “Thea!”

As it was lowered to the fire pit, Thea clenched her fists and bit her lip, trying everything she could not to cry. Her nails dug into her skin, drawing blood. The voices of the crowd went into a crescendo, screaming of justice punishing another murderous witch.

Thea knew her mother killed no one, much less her father.

But her thought was lost in the middle of the noise.

_The witch was hunted by the villagers. They found her and burned her, and then brought her ashes to the shepherd._

_In his fury, he killed them all, and the magic of his beloved went swirling straight into his heart._

\--

When the Great Witch sent her fire after the Storyteller, Thea laughed. If only she burned down the entirety of Labyrinthia.

If only she burned down everything.

_However, even with his newfound powers, the shepherd forever missed the witch and lived a lonely and sad life._

**Author's Note:**

> :(


End file.
